This collection contributes to key theoretical debates about women workers in Asia and breaks new ground by focussing on issues that have been little documented in other studies in the area. It provides new information and insights into labour systems associated with labour intensive export manufactures and state-labour relations in a comparative context. The contributors present a range of unique and varied perspectives from which they consider aspects of the increasing integration of Asian economies, exploring implications for their labour markets. The study focuses on women's increased participation in the paid workforce in the context of rapid social and economic development that is taking place in Asia. It approaches women's work from an institutional and structural as well as an economic perspective by concentrating on a wide range of countries at different stages f development and of differential size. The book also provides cross-national; data and information on labour rights and trade union organization among women.